Two years after the ban was introduced by local banks on operations with bitcoin and other cryptocoins, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) plans to create a regulatory environment for their regulation, reports The Chronicle.
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In particular, RBZ has already begun to develop a policy framework to guide the activities of cryptographic companies.
Josephat Mutepfa, deputy director of financial markets and national payment systems at RBZ, said that they had already begun to develop a fintech framework because everything in the regulation should be structured. This framework is a normative sandbox and will evaluate the direction of activity of crypto companies.
Cryptocoins in Zimbabwe are not currently regulated. In December 2017, the CB issued a statement stating that any person investing in virtual currencies or participating in any transaction related to virtual currencies does so at his own risk and will not have legal protection or protection against any regulatory authority.
Prior to this, the head of RBZ Norman Mataruka said that bitcoin will not be allowed until an appropriate regulatory framework has been developed.
According to the IMF, Zimbabwe is experiencing economic and humanitarian crisis.
An IMF statement last month said the country's macroeconomic stability remains a problem. Inflation is high and international reserves are low. Given the expected next bad crop, growth in 2020 is projected to be close to zero, with food shortages remaining.
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It was also noted that although the Zimbabwean budget for 2020 provides for a significant increase in social spending, they are likely to be insufficient to meet immediate needs.
It is noteworthy that in September 2018, the Minister of Finance of Zimbabwe said that cryptocoins will help the country cope with the economic crisis.